BCO 2015: Entrepreneurship, not “scooters and free snacks” will be the future of innovative workspaces, said the founder of one of the biggest work campuses in the US at the BCO Conference in Chicago this week.
Howard Tullman, founder of 1871, Chicago’s hub for digital start-ups, told delegates that his 50,000 sq ft campus had grown to become second only in size to the Pentagon, through investment in education and entrepreneurship, rather than relying on gimmicks.
He said: “The success of 1871, one of the largest spaces of its kind in the world, is based on education spend and nurturing and incubating entrepreneurship. We spend $1m a year on education at six different schools, universities and on fintech to give people access to the resources and training they need. It should not be about having the right coffee machine, scooters and free snacks. People need more than that.”
Support and investment in entrepreneurship will be crucial to drive forward the future of workspace hubs and accelerators such as 1871 in the US and PiLabs in the UK, said experts at the BCO.
emily.wright@estatesgazette.com
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